katie rose writes

So, I've been going verse-by-verse through Isaiah 40 in my quiet time along with the L3 journal readings (currently in Romans). And it's been really cool. My love is just breaking down verses and getting deeper meanings from verses we've read a bazillion times. So, a few days ago I was in verses 6-8. "A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" [The reply] All flesh is grass, and all it beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the LORD will stand forever." The voice that said "Cry!" was the voice of the LORD. Isaiah's response is how we should also say, "What shall I cry?" ...What do You, LORD have to say? What do you want to speak through me? I cannot speak on my own authority; I only want to speak what YOU have to say. The reply is: man is mortal ...

WOW. That is all I can say about yesterday's L3 reading in Romans 1. Usually I read this passage and get really bogged down in the sins of the world & my own sins and the consequences of those sins & the war waging within me about those sins....etc. Whew. Tiring, right? Well, yesterday God was like NO! I AM victorious over sin. I AM victorious over your flesh. Therefore, live victoriously. SO He showed me a really cool verse in like the prologue of the first chapter, before even the greeting Paul gives to the Romans of Grace & Peace [really awesome side note: Peace=shalom=a person's life with God and with everything else is in ordered harmony, both physically and spiritually, and "all is well"(ESV study note)]. So, verse 5. I'm gonna start at the end of verse 4, because it makes more sense. "...Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His name among all the ...

Matthew 11:28-30 " Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 5 Lessons from this text. 1) Come Let go. Of everything you are holding on to. Give it to Him. He wants it. He wants you. Stop doing everything you are doing, and just come to Him. 2) Rest Let His arms, His loving arms, wrap you up and hold you. Let Him pry open your hands and hold them. That's what He wants to do above all else--just for you to curl up in His lap and rest in Him. 3) Take Let His burden, His yoke replace yours. Set your heart on things that are of Him, things that are above. Let your eyes always look up. Take His hand in yours. Hold on tight. It's gonna be an amazing ride if you take His hand in yours and keep walking. 4) Learn Let Him speak over you the Word. Listen oh so ...

This weekend was Orientation weekend as Mississippi summer missionaries prepare for the arrival onto the field. So, I definitely was excited to be there. While there, we talked about how important Spiritual Disciplines are. One of them was journaling. Something I like to do, but haven't really been able to much this year because of ... well, college in general, I guess. Anyway, the verse that we looked at for this spiritual discipline was Psalm 62:8 . We were in small groups, taking turns reading. I was so happy when I was able to read this verse. It's awesome. Here is it...in two different versions. "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (ESV) "Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower)." (AMP) Isn't that just an amazing verse. Especially the "pour our your hea...

John 14:1 "Let not your hearts be troubled." The context of this verse is absolutely astounding! Jesus had just told Peter that he would deny Him 3 times before the following morning! Tells me that, we are going to mess up. It's inevitable. However, it's OKAY! The next phrase of this verse says "Believe in God." In the original Greek, it is really saying, "You believe in God." As in, that's enough! Believe in Him, knowing you're going to mess up, but knowing that grace overshadows and overcomes all of your shortcomings! Let your knowledge of who God is affect everything else--including your heart (don't let it be troubled)! John 14:10 "The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does His works." He now dwells in us, if we have believed in Him & accepted Him. We are not our own anymore, we are His and He has taken over! Just as God had full control over Christ--speaking Go...

Proverbs 1:7 says, "The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Many, many times across my life I have wondered, whether by myself or with a group of people, just what does "the fear of the LORD" look like? What does that mean? One recurring answer has always come up: Fear = respect (like a father figure or authority figure). And I think this is a good interpretation of this fear because it is a healthy fear to have--having a mix of fear and respect for someone, especially someone in power is always good. Furthermore, I do not think that we should have fear in the sense of trembling and afraid of being shot down by lightning...though a tiny bit of that fear is good, because God is a Holy God & we are sinful people. But our fear should never overpower us to the point of turning away because we are too afraid; instead this little dose of this kind of fear should show grace greater to us! A Holy & sinless God wants to call sinful people to His side, of...